U.S. patent application number 12/234222 was filed with the patent office on 2010-03-25 for quick gesture input.
Invention is credited to Charles L. Chen, Tiruvilwamalai Venkatram Raman.
Application Number | 20100073329 12/234222 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 42037152 |
Filed Date | 2010-03-25 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100073329 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Raman; Tiruvilwamalai Venkatram ;
et al. |
March 25, 2010 |
Quick Gesture Input
Abstract
A computer-implemented user interface method for a computing
device is disclosed. The method includes associating each of a
plurality of telephone keys with a direction of each key relative
to a center of a telephone keypad, receiving a contact from a user
of the device at a location on a touchscreen display of a computing
device and an input at a direction relative to the location of the
user contact, and causing a telephone number to be entered on the
computing device based on the direction of each key relative to the
center of the telephone keypad corresponding to the direction
relative to the location of the user contact.
Inventors: |
Raman; Tiruvilwamalai
Venkatram; (San Jose, CA) ; Chen; Charles L.;
(Sunnyvale, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
FISH & RICHARDSON P.C.
PO BOX 1022
MINNEAPOLIS
MN
55440-1022
US
|
Family ID: |
42037152 |
Appl. No.: |
12/234222 |
Filed: |
September 19, 2008 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
345/177 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 3/167 20130101;
G06F 3/04886 20130101; G06F 2203/04804 20130101; G06F 3/0233
20130101; G06F 3/016 20130101; G06F 2203/04808 20130101; G06F
3/04883 20130101; G06F 3/0236 20130101; G06F 3/0482 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
345/177 |
International
Class: |
G06F 3/043 20060101
G06F003/043 |
Claims
1. A computer-implemented user interface method for a computing
device, the method comprising: associating each of a plurality of
telephone keys with a direction of each key relative to a center of
a telephone keypad; receiving a contact from a user of the device
at a location on a touch input surface of a computing device and an
input at a direction relative to the location of the user contact;
causing a character to be entered on the computing device based on
the direction of each key relative to the center of the telephone
keypad corresponding to the direction relative to the location of
the user contact.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the input at a direction relative
to the location of the user contact comprises a dragging input
starting at the location of the user contact.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the entered character corresponds
to a radial direction relative to a five on a standard telephone
keypad.
4. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a tap input
in addition to the input at a direction relative to the location of
the user contact and causing an execution of a command associated
with the tap input.
5. The method of claim 4, further comprising using the tap input to
identify the input as a non-numeric input.
6. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing an audible
feedback announcing the entered telephone number.
7. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing a tactile
feedback to register, to the user, reception of the input.
8. A computer-implemented user interface method, comprising:
associating each of a plurality of data input keystrokes with a
radial direction; receiving a user contact at a location on a touch
input device and an input at a direction relative to the location
of the user contact; correlating the direction relative to the
location of the user contact to a radial direction for one of the
plurality of data input keystrokes; and registering a keystroke for
a key of a virtual keyboard in the direction relative to the
location of the user contact.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein the input at a direction relative
to the location of the user contact comprises a dragging input
starting at the location of the user contact.
10. The method of claim 8, further comprising providing audible
feedback concerning a selected keystroke during the dragging input,
and receiving a corrective dragging input at an angle different
than the direction relative to the location of the user contact,
wherein the registered keystroke corresponds to the angle of the
corrective dragging input.
11. The method of claim 8, further comprising assigning the
location on the touch input device to a predetermined location on a
virtual keyboard, and registering a keystroke for a key in a
direction from the predetermined location according to the
direction relative to the location of the user contact.
12. The method of claim 8, further comprising repeating the steps
of receiving, correlating, and registering for each of a plurality
of alphanumeric characters and combining the characters into a data
entry string.
13. The method of claim 8, further comprising receiving a tap input
in addition to the input at a direction relative to the location of
the user contact.
14. The method of claim 13, further comprising using the tap input
to identify the input as relating to one of a plurality of groups
of characters.
15. The method of claim 8, further comprising providing an audible
feedback announcing the content of the entered keystroke.
16. The method of claim 8, further comprising receiving, from an
computer application, enrollment information associating each of a
plurality of directions with keystrokes, and providing the
keystroke for the key of the virtual keyboard to the
application.
17. A computer-implemented data entry system, comprising: a touch
input manager to receive and interpret user inputs on a touch input
device of a computing device; one or more computing applications;
and a gesture interface to receive registrations from the one or
more computing applications, wherein the registrations include an
input direction and a corresponding keypress, and to provide data
for keypresses to the applications in response to receiving
directional inputs on the touch input device.
18. The computer-implemented system of claim 17, wherein the
gesture interface provides data for keypresses independent of an
actual starting location of an input on the touch input device.
19. The computer-implemented system of claim 17, wherein, when the
gesture interface is invoked, the gesture interface superimposes
itself over an existing graphical interface on a touchscreen that
comprises the touch input device.
20. The computer-implemented system of claim 17, wherein the
gesture interface is programmed to generate data for producing an
audible signal indicating values of keypresses on the device
21. A computer-implemented data entry system, comprising: a
touchscreen input manager to receive and interpret user inputs on a
touchscreen of a computing device; one or more computing
applications; and means for providing directional user-entered data
from the touchscreen to the one or more computing applications.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] This document relates to user interfaces for computing
devices such as mobile devices in the form of smart phones.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Mobile computing continues to grow quickly as mobile
devices, such as smart phones, add more power and more features.
Users of such devices may now access various services on the
internet, such as mapping applications, electronic mail, text
messaging, various telephone services, general web browsing, music
and video viewing, and similar such services. The small size of
mobile devices may make it difficult to interact with such
services, because a full QWERTY keyboard may not be available on a
mobile device or may not be available at all times. Thus, input to
a mobile device may occur via a standard telephone dialing pad
(e.g., via multi-tap inputs) or a touch screen.
[0003] In addition, interaction with a mobile device may occur in a
variety of situations, in varying levels of concentration for a
user. At one end of a spectrum, a user may be able to provide full
attention to their device, such as when they are at their desk or
riding on mass transit. At the other end of the spectrum, a user
may be busy having a conversation or driving their automobile, so
that any interaction with their mobile device should require a
minimum amount of attention from the user.
SUMMARY
[0004] This document describes systems and techniques that a user
may employ in order to enter information into a mobile computing
device. In general, an application or operating system on a mobile
device may establish certain gestures on a touch screen that will
result in particular inputs being used by the application or
another application on the device. The initial point of contact by
a user on a display (e.g., with the user's fingertip) may establish
an anchor point that is then used to identify a subsequent
direction of input by a user (e.g., via a dragging motion or a
second press on the screen). The direction may be mapped to a
keypad, with the anchor point representing a key or area on the
keypad (e.g., a center key of the keypad) and the dragging
direction representing a desired key in the relevant direction from
the center key. Where a keypad is larger, so that multiple keys may
be located in the same direction from an anchor key, additional
user input may indicate the appropriate key, from the multiple keys
in the particular direction, that is intended by the user. In
addition, feedback may be provided to a user to indicate the
keypress that has been registered in response to their input, such
as by having a device speak the input associated with the keypress.
Such feedback may come in a number of forms, such as spoken (e.g.,
synthesized or digitized speech), auditory (e.g., tones or clicks),
and tactile (e.g., rumble or tap) feedback, where such feedback is
synchronized to registration of the inputs. Thus, in addition to
hearing the value of a pressed key spoken, a user may also hear a
short sound, synchronized with tactile feedback such as vibration.
Such feedback may improve the sensation of "moving over" or
"pressing" a button.
[0005] In one example, a telephone dialing system may be provided.
A user's initial point of contact with a touchscreen may be taken
by the system as the location of the "5" key on a telephone keypad.
Subsequent dragging by the user in a radial direction may select a
key on the keypad that is in the radial direction from the "5" key,
whether or not the user's contact on the screen is actually over a
"5" key that might be displayed on a virtual keyboard on the
screen. For example, dragging downward relative to the initial
point of contact may indicate entry of an "8," while dragging in a
upper-right or Northeast direction may represent entry of a "3."
Particular strokes may indicate entries of keys that are not
directly radially related to the "5" key, such as a tap indicating
entry of the "5" key, a circle indicating entry of the "0" key, and
other special strokes indicating entry of the pound or asterisk
keys. Other inputs, such as shaking and/or tilting the device, can
provide other commands.
[0006] In certain embodiments, the features discussed here may
provide one or more advantages. For example, a user can enter data
into a device without having to look at the device, where the data
input is determined by a direction of input, and where the initial
point of input from the user is independent of the keypress to be
entered. In particular, the user may operate a mobile device
without having to take their visual attention away from another
activity. Moreover, such a system may be learned in certain
implementations without a user having to learn an input lexicon.
Also, blind users may more easily interact with a computing device
having a touchscreen interface. Such features may have benefits in
terms of better usability and safety.
[0007] In one implementation, a computer-implemented user interface
method for a computing device is discussed. The method comprises
associating each of a plurality of telephone keypresses with a
direction of each key relative to a center of a telephone keypad,
receiving a user contact from a user of the device at a location on
a touchscreen display of a computing device and an input at a
direction relative to the location of the user contact, and causing
a telephone number to be entered on the computing device based on
the direction of each key relative to the center of the telephone
keypad corresponding to the direction relative to the location of
the user contact. The input at a direction relative to the location
of the user contact can comprise a dragging input starting at the
location of the user contact.
[0008] In some aspects, the entered telephone number corresponds to
a radial direction relative to a five on a standard telephone
keypad. The method can also include receiving a tap input in
addition to the input at a direction relative to the location of
the user contact and causing an execution of a command associated
with the tap input. The method also can comprise using the tap
input to identify the input as a non-numeric input. In addition, an
audible feedback can be provided announcing the entered telephone
number. The method also can include providing a tactile feedback to
register, to a the user, reception of the input.
[0009] In another implementation, a computer-implemented user
interface method is disclosed. The method comprises associating
each of a plurality of keystrokes with a radial direction,
receiving a user contact at a location on a touchscreen display and
an input at a direction relative to the location of the user
contact, correlating the direction relative to the location of the
user contact to a radial direction for one of the plurality of
keystrokes, and registering a keystroke for a key of a virtual
keyboard in the direction relative to the location of the user
contact. The input at a direction relative to the location of the
user contact can comprise a dragging input starting at the location
of the user contact. The method can also include providing audible
feedback concerning a selected keystroke during the dragging input,
and receiving a corrective dragging input at an angle different
than the direction relative to the location of the user contact,
wherein the registered keystroke corresponds to the angle of the
corrective dragging input.
[0010] In one aspect, the method also comprises assigning the
location on the touchscreen display to a predetermined location on
a virtual keyboard, and registering a keystroke for a key in a
direction from the predetermined location according to the
direction relative to the location of the user contact. The method
can also include repeating the steps of receiving, correlating, and
registering for each of a plurality of alphanumeric characters and
combining the characters into a data entry string. In addition, the
method can include receiving a tap input in addition to the input
at a direction relative to the location of the user contact.
[0011] In yet another aspect, the method additionally includes
using the tap input to identify the input as relating to one of a
plurality of groups of characters. The method can also comprise
providing an audible feedback announcing the content of the entered
keystroke, and can further comprise receiving, from an computer
application, enrollment information associating each of a plurality
of directions with keystrokes, and providing the keystroke for the
key of the virtual keyboard to the application.
[0012] In yet another implementation, a computer-implemented data
entry system is disclosed. The system comprises a touchscreen input
manager to receive and interpret user inputs on a touchscreen of a
computing device, one or more computing applications, and a gesture
interface to receive registrations from the one or more computing
applications, wherein the registrations include an input direction
and a corresponding keypress, and to provide data for keypresses to
the applications in response to receiving directional inputs on the
touchscreen. The gesture interface can provide data for keypresses
independent of an actual starting location of an input on the
touchscreen. The gesture interface can also superimpose itself over
an existing graphical interface on the touchscreen when the gesture
interface is invoked. In addition, the gesture interface can be
programmed to generate data for producing an audible signal
indicating values of keypresses on the device.
[0013] In another implementation, a computer-implemented data entry
system is disclosed that comprises a touchscreen input manager to
receive and interpret user inputs on a touchscreen of a computing
device, one or more computing applications, and means for providing
directional user-entered data from the touchscreen to the one or
more computing applications.
[0014] The details of one or more embodiments are set forth in the
accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features and
advantages will be apparent from the description and drawings, and
from the claims.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0015] FIG. 1 shows example screenshots of a mobile device
providing for touchscreen user input.
[0016] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a system for providing quick
touchscreen user input.
[0017] FIG. 3A is a flowchart of a process for receiving
touchscreen user inputs.
[0018] FIG. 3B is a flowchart of a process for interpreting
touchscreen inputs on behalf of applications for which a user makes
the inputs.
[0019] FIG. 4 is a swim lane diagram of a process by which a
gesture tracking module interfaces between a computer application
and a touchscreen.
[0020] FIG. 5 shows an example of a computer device and a mobile
computer device that can be used to implement the techniques
described here.
[0021] Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like
elements.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0022] This document describes systems and techniques for receiving
user input on a touchscreen of a computing device in a manner that
is relatively quick and involves reduced user visual attention to
the input process. The user input may begin with a user contact
(e.g., a finger touch) on a touchscreen and may proceed with an
additional user input in a direction from the initial user contact,
such as by the user dragging their finger in a direction measured
radially from the initial point of contact. The particular
direction of the dragging may represent an intended input that
corresponds to a key on a virtual keyboard or keypad that is
located in the respective direction from an anchor key on the
keyboard. Thus, for example, the point of initial contact may be
assumed to be a center key of a keypad, whereas a direction of the
subsequent user input may represent a key, in that direction
relative to the center key, that the user would like to press. In
certain scenarios, the keypad need not be shown on the display in
order for the inputs to be mapped to the keypad, or the inputs need
not be aligned with the keypad if it is displayed.
[0023] FIG. 1 shows example screenshots of a mobile device
providing for touchscreen user input. In general, four different
displays 102-110 are shown to provide examples demonstrating how
the techniques described here can be implemented. Each of the
displays 102-110 are shown in a mobile device having a touchscreen
graphical user interface, where the device may be loaded with a
number of computer applications, including a telephone dialing
application. Telephone dialing may be a particularly appropriate
application for the techniques described here because talking on a
telephone traditionally does not require eye contact with the
device, while dialing of a telephone typically requires visual or
tactile contact. As a result, people may feel comfortable making a
telephone call when they do not have such eye contact, but may
unnecessarily take their attention away from their other work while
they are dialing.
[0024] Display 102 shows such an example of user telephone dialing
input. The display 102 looks like a standard smart phone virtual
dialing pad, having a standard telephone keypad 112 displayed on a
touchscreen, and a data entry area 118 showing numbers entered by a
user. In a typical configuration, the user may simply tap each
number on the keypad to enter the numbers. However, such entry
requires the user to know where each of the numbers is located, and
such awareness may require the user to look at the
keypad--something that is difficult to do if the device is in a
pocket or holster, or at the user's ear.
[0025] As a result, an alternative (or in this case, additional)
data entry technique is provided. In particular, because normal
dialing on the interface 102 involves tapping, the system can
recognize dragging motions as involving an alternative user intent.
In particular, dragging motions on the display 102 may be
interpreted to be directed at entering dialing keypad information
based on a direction of the dragging.
[0026] Two such dragging examples, shown on display 102, may
illustrate this point. The first dragging example 114, labeled "A,"
represents a path of a user's finger dragging across the display
102--here, in an upper-right or Northeast direction. The dragging
motion starts with an initial user contact over the "4" key on the
display 102, but the ultimate input is determined independent of
that particular correspondence between the contact point and the
currently-displayed selection under the contact point. Rather, the
character that is deemed to be input by the user is the
character--on the virtual keypad shown on the display 102--that is
in the dragged direction relative to the center of the keypad. In
this example, the center of the keypad is the "5" key, and the key
to the upper-right of that key is the "3" key. Therefore, the data
entry area 118 shows a "3" in its first position, so that a
telephone number ultimately dialed by the device will start with
the digit 3.
[0027] The second dragging example 116, labeled "B," represents a
follow-up input by the user. This time, the user starts in the
upper-right corner of the display 102 and drags to the upper-left,
or Northwest. Again, the interpreted input is deemed to have
started at the center of the keypad, and to have selected the key
on the dragged direction on the keypad, which here is the "1" key
(i.e., the "1" key is Northwest of the "5" key). As a result, the
second displayed digit in the data entry area is a "1." The
actually starting point of dragging example 116 did not
matter-rather, what mattered was the direction of the dragging.
[0028] In certain examples, the general location of the start of a
dragging operation may have some effect on the input, as that input
is interpreted by a device. For example, a screen may be split into
two portions so that selections in directions on one half of the
screen are interpreted in a different manner than selections in the
same directions on the other half of the screen. Still, however,
the selections may be independent of the actual initial location of
the contact, in that any selection in the appropriate direction in
the designated area, will have the same result, regardless of where
in that designated area the selection began.
[0029] In certain situations, like that shown in display 102, not
all of the relevant keys will be arrayed in a single radial
direction from an anchoring point, such as the "5" key. In those
situations, additional gestures may be used to signal an intent to
enter such additional keys. For example, a single tap may represent
an intent to select the middle key. Other times, multiple taps or
dragging other than in a radial direction may indicate such an
intent. For example, drawing a circle--though it may be slower than
a straight radial drag--may be used to indicate an intent to press
the "0" key. Other tapping or curved gestures may represent an
intent similar to pressing a "control" or "caps lock" key on a
standard keyboard.
[0030] Display 104 provides an example similar to that in display
102, but over a desktop for a mobile operating system. In
particular, the display 104 shows a number of selectable
application icons such as icon 122, and a widget 120 in the form of
a clock, displayed together on a single level of a desktop. This
may be the display that is generally shown to a user of a device
when no particular application is the focus of the device's
operating system (e.g., when no applications are launched or when
all the applications' windows are minimized). In this example, two
user dragging selections are again shown. The first dragging
selection 124, labeled "A," is made in a downward direction, and
the second dragging selection 126 is made in a rightward direction.
Thus, if the relevant input mode of the device at the time of the
entries were for a dialing application or another application
relating to a telephone keypad (e.g., texting), the user selections
may represent an intent to select the "8" key (which is below the
center, "5" key) and the "6" key (which is to the right of the
center, "5" key).
[0031] The user data entries may be interpreted in other contexts,
however, and the particular context may be set in a number of
different ways. As one example, user entries on the desktop may be
assumed, initially, to relate to the elements on the desktop, so
that, for example, tapping an icon causes an application associated
with the icon to be launched, and dragging on an icon causes the
icon to be relocated. However, if a user makes an input action to
display 104, where the action does not correspond to an action
supported by the display 104 at the current time, the action may be
taken by the device as directed at an alternative application. For
example, if a user presses down on an icon and drags it to a
location at which it cannot be dropped, such a seemingly
incongruous action may be interpreted as being directed to an
alternative input mechanism on the device, which will involve
interpreting the input according to the direction of the
dragging.
[0032] Also, a particular user gesture may be used to activate such
an alternative input mechanism. For example, if a user traces a
circle over a desktop, such an action may activate the alternative
input mechanism. Also, accelerometer input may be taken as an
indication to provide for an alternative input mechanism, such as
by a user shaking the device in a particular manner. Also, if the
device senses other environmental variables, such as by sensing
that its front side or screen is close to an object (e.g. it is in
a user's pocket or close to the user's head), the alternative input
mechanism may be automatically enabled.
[0033] A user may be able to specify which application, of several
applications, will be enabled when an alternative input mechanism
is acting over a desktop. For example, in an operating system
configuration screen or in a configuration screen for the
alternative input mechanism, the user can identify an application
to which input data is to be passed (such as a telephone dialer)
when no other application is an obvious recipient of the input
(such as when no other application is active). Also, a user may
speak the name of an application to enable alternative touch input
for that application.
[0034] One such user example may better highlight the concepts
discussed here. For example, a user may speak the word "dialer" to
have their device change to a mode in which dialing may take place.
While the user could also speak the numbers to dial, they may be in
a noisy area (or a quiet area) in which they would like to minimize
their level of voice input. The voice input may launch a dialer
application and may also cause that application to be displayed in
place of a desktop that was previously shown on the display, as
with display 102. Alternatively, the dialer may be invoked or may
not be displayed, as with display 104. The user may then make
dragging motions on the display in particular directions to enter
keys to be dialed, and may shake their phone or press a dial key
(e.g., such as one of the buttons below display 102 or display 104)
to cause the numbers they have entered to be dialed.
[0035] Alternatively, a user wanting to send a text message may
speak the words "text," and may then enter characters for a text
message. Such entry may occur in a number of ways. For example, the
user may make entries that correspond to text entry via a standard
telephone keypad. In one example, dragging in various compass
directions or orientations may result in the entry of numbers,
while dragging in a direction and then tapping one to four times
may result in a particular letter associated with the key in that
direction being entered.
[0036] A device may also provide audible feedback in the form of
the content of an interpreted data entry intent. As one example for
entering text, when a user drags to the right, their device may
speak "six." If they then lift their finger and tap once, the
device may speak "m," to cycle through the various values for the
"6" key. If the user then drags their finger down and right, the
device may speak "nine," and if they tap again, the device may
speak "w." Another tap may cause "x" to be spoken, and another may
cause "y" to be spoken. In this manner, a form of multi-tap input
may be provided without the user having to look at the touchscreen.
The spoken value may also be combined with an audible tone or other
similar sound so as to more quickly indicate when an input value
has been registered by a system.
[0037] Additional feedback may be provided tactilely. For example,
a device may vibrate slightly when a character entered by a user is
registered by a device, so that the user will know that they can
move on to entering their next character. Such feedback may be in
place of audible feedback or may be in addition to audible
feedback, so as to reinforce the message provided by the audible
feedback. In this manner, the user may be provided an improved
sensation of pressing or rolling over a certain selection (even
though their actually finger may not be rolling over any visible
element on the touchscreen).
[0038] Deletion of characters that have been entered and other such
functions may be performed in various manners, including by the
functions being assigned to one of the virtual keyboard keys and
being selected in the manners discussed above. Alternatively,
special input mechanisms may be used. For example, deleting a
character may be accomplished by shaking a mobile device (where the
device includes an accelerometer) or by jerking the device to the
left (to signify shifting of the cursor to the left). Such deletion
may also be accompanied by audible and/or tactile feedback, such as
by speaking all of the characters that remain after the deletion,
or by speaking something like, "Letter `S` deleted." Also, a
special button on the device may be used for such functions, such
as an off-screen soft button.
[0039] Referring now to the third display in the figure, display
106, a scenario like that shown in display 104 is provided. In this
example, the presence of an alternative data entry interface is
made known visually to a user. The interface relates to dialing on
a telephone number but does not entirely replace a desktop with a
dialer. Rather, an interface overlay 128 is shown in a translucent
manner with an instruction of "dial a number" to indicate to a user
who may be looking at the display 106 that the device is currently
in an alternative data entry mode.
[0040] A data input box 132 may also be provided as part of the
overlay 128 so as to provide an indication of the data that the
user has entered. The data input box 132 may be translucent like
the rest of the box or opaque so as to better display the data that
a user has input to the device. In addition, other data display
objects may be provided with the overlay 128 to provide visual
input to a user, though the visual input may be optional when
considering that the user may not be looking at the device while
entering data into it.
[0041] In certain implementations, the data may be associated with
a particular application only after it has been entered by a user.
For example, if a user enters ten numeric digits and then provides
an indication that they are finished entering data (e.g., by
tapping or shaking their device), an interface module may infer
that the person entered a telephone number and may provide the
number to a dialer on the device. In a like manner, if the user
enters a number of words, the interface module may provide the text
to a text messaging application, to a note taking application or to
another similar application, where the selection of an application
can depend on the context (e.g., on the content or size of the text
entered). Alternatively, a device may identify several possible
uses for the text and may ask a user for an additional entry
indicating how they would like the data used.
[0042] In the example in the figure, three different entries are
shown. A first dragging selection 130 is made in an upper-left
direction, thus indicating selection of a "1" key on a dialing
keypad. If the user had subsequently tapped on the display 106, an
alternative entry may have been provided, or the system may have
interpreted the tapping as entry of a "5" key, since the "1" key
has no letters assigned to it on a standard keypad. A second
dragging selection 134 is labeled "B," and represents a selection
of the "2" key, while a third dragging selection 136, labeled "C,"
represents a selection of the "3" key. Thus, the data entry area
shows the numbers "123." The user may continue entering numbers
until the data they intended to enter is complete.
[0043] Display 110 shows an example of alphanumeric data entry. A
virtual keypad 136 is shown in the middle of display 110 and
represents a circular representation of the alphabetic keys on a
standard Dvorak keyboard. Such a keyboard is designed to permit
fast typing, so that frequently-used letters are placed along the
middle row of the keyboard, and infrequently-used letters are
placed in the upper and lower rows, and also at the edges. In a
similar manner, the frequently-used letters from the middle row of
a Dvorak keyboard are shown here in a middle circle of the virtual
keypad 136. Such letters may be selected by a user simply by
dragging in a particular direction. The number of characters in a
particular row may be selected so as to permit a system to discern
a user's intended input, so that a user does not frequently drag in
the direction of a letter they did not intend to submit.
[0044] Other, less frequently-used letters are shown in a second
ring, where selection of such letters may require a dragging motion
followed by a single tap (or a tap followed by a dragging motion),
to indicate that the outer row of letters is the user's intent. An
indicator 138 in the middle of the keypad 136 can provide a number
of different indications. For example, here the indicator 138 shows
the number "1", corresponding to the particular keypad shown here.
A "2," in contrast, may represent that a different portion of the
keypad is shown. For example, punctuation is not currently shown on
display 110, but a user may switch so that the keypad 136 changes
to show, and accept input for, punctuation. Such a change may occur
by a variety of gestures, such as a circular dragging, by tapping
in all four corners or two opposed corners of the display 110, or
by swiping along the length of one side of the display (e.g., along
the entire length or substantially the entire length). Certain
frequently used punctuation, such as commas and periods, or other
frequently-used keys may also be included in a main ring of a
virtual keyboard.
[0045] Alternatively, a user intent to enter a character that is on
an outer ring may be inferred from user actions during the entry of
dragging operation. In one example, the dragging operation may
contain multiple segments, where the first segment indicates a
direction, and a second segment indicates which row of a multi-row
(or multi-circle) keypad to select. For example, a user may simple
drag in a straight line to indicate entry from an inner circle, but
may double-back (or hook to the left or right) before lifting their
finger to indicate an intent to enter a character from an outer
circle.
[0046] As with the other displays, display 110 shows a data entry
box 140 to provide visual feedback of characters that have been
entered, or at least registered by the user's device. Such
characters may also be spoken audibly to the user as each character
is registered.
[0047] Three different dragging entries, labeled A to C and
numbered 142, 144, and 146, respectively, correspond to the three
letters shown in the data entry box 10. Dragging entry 142 is a
complex entry because it involves an initial tap, and two entry
segments that are separated by a change in direction. The initial
tap is shown by a dotted circle and may be employed by a user to
indicate that the upcoming dragging motion relates to the outer
circle rather than the inner circle. A hook 142a in the entry may
represent a variety of intents. For example, the hook may indicate
which circle the user would like the application to select a letter
from the outer circle. The right hook shown here may represent the
inner circle.
[0048] The hook may also represent a mid-course correction by the
user. For example, as the user dragged upward, their device may
have interpreted the input as a "p" rather than a "q" and may have
spoken the letter "p" as soon as the entry was sufficient to
indicate such an intent. Upon hearing the device say "p," the user
may have been alerted that the device was interpreting their intent
in an improper manner, and may have turned slightly to the right to
indicate that they intended to select the key to the right (or
clockwise of) the "p"--i.e., the "q" key.
[0049] Subsequent entries 144 and 146 indicate intents to enter the
letters "u" and "i." The user's intent to select from the inner
circle may be inferred from the lack of a tapping input preceding
or following the dragging entries.
[0050] The device may also make intelligent contextual selections
from user inputs. For example, a disambiguation dictionary may be
used to determine which of the two rows of characters in display
110 is intended, based on the frequency with which the particular
letters appear together in ordinary usage, much like typical text
entry completion methods work to disambiguate text entry. For
example, entry B may represent, ambiguously, the entry of a "u" or
a "b", and reference to a disambiguation dictionary may indicate
that the letters "qu" are used together much more often than the
letters "qb," so that the system will disambiguate the entry to
represent the letter "u."
[0051] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a system 200 for providing
quick touchscreen user input. In general, the system is represented
by a mobile device 202, such as a smart phone, having a touchscreen
user interface 204. In addition, the device 202 may have
alternative input mechanisms, such as a clickable trackball 206 and
other selectable buttons, in addition to a physical keyboard that
can be uncovered by sliding the display outward.
[0052] The device 202 may communicate via a wireless interface 222,
through a network 208 such as the internet and/or a cellular
network, with servers 210. For example, the device 202 may carry
telephone calls through the telephone network or using VOIP
technologies in familiar manners. Also, the device 202 may transmit
regular data over the internet, such as in the form of HTTP
requests directed at particular web sites, and may receive
responses, such as in the form of mark-up code for generating web
pages, as media files, as electronic messages, or in other
forms.
[0053] A number of components running on one or more processors
installed in the device 202 may enable a user to have simplified
input on the touchscreen interface 204. For example, an interface
manager 216 may manage interaction with the touchscreen interface
204, and may include a display manager 212 and an input manager
214.
[0054] The display manager 212 may manage what information is shown
to a user via interface 204. For example, an operating system on
the device 202 may employ display manager 212 to arbitrate access
to the interface 202 for a number of applications 218 running on
the device 202. In one example, the device 202 may display a number
of applications, each in its own window, and the display manager
may control what portions of each application are shown on the
interface 202.
[0055] The input manager 214 may control data that is received from
a user via the touchscreen 204 or other input mechanisms. For
example, the input manager 214 may coordinate with the display
manager 212 to identify where, on the display, a user is entering
information so that that the device may understand the context of
the input. In addition, the input manager 214 may determine which
application or applications should be provided with the input. For
example, when the input is provided within a text entry box of an
active application, data entered in the box may be made available
to that application. Likewise, applications may subscribe with the
input manager so that they may be passed information entered by a
user in appropriate circumstances. In one example, the input
manager 214 may be programmed with an alternative input mechanism
like those shown in FIG. 1 and may manage which application or
applications are to receive information from the mechanism.
[0056] A simple gesture interface 217 may also be provided for
similar purposes. In particular, the simple gesture interface 217
may be a program module or other form of application, such as a
widget or gadget, that serves as an intermediary between other
applications on a device and the interface manager 216.
Applications 218 may initially register with the simple gesture
interface 217 when they are originally launched. In certain
embodiments, the applications 218 may identify one or more
directions for which it would like to receive inputs, e.g., by
designating downward movement as an "8" for a telephone-based
application. Using a known API, for example, the application may
submit an array or other data structure of parameters of direction
and input keys to be associated with user inputs in those
directions. Where multi-direction inputs are to be interpreted, the
applications 218 may submit information in a similar, but more
expansive, manner.
[0057] The simple gesture interface 217 may then interact with the
interface manager 216, such as by registering itself with the
interface manager 216. When a user performs activities associated
with such a registration, so as to indicate that the user would
like to use the input mechanisms described here (e.g., by placing
the device 202 in a pocket, by shaking the device 202 in a
particular manner, or by dragging across display 204 in a
particular manner), the interface manager 216 may report subsequent
inputs by the user to the simple gesture interface 216. For
example, the interface manager may report the X and Y coordinates
of each line traced by a user or of points along a curve or other
pattern traced by the user. The interface manager 216 may also
report if the user entered any taps and where those taps occurred
on the display 204.
[0058] The simple gesture interface 217 may then interpret such
input and report it in an appropriate manner to the relevant
application or applications 218. For example, the simple gesture
interface 217 may report a direction of a dragging input and the
occurrence of any taps relevant in time to the dragging, and the
application may interpret such data. Alternatively, the simple
gesture interface 217 may interpret the data in a greater manner,
such as by correlating a certain dragging direction with a
keystroke that was previously registered by the application as
corresponding to the direction. The simple gesture interface 217
may then pass the keystroke to the application.
[0059] The simple gesture interface 217 may also reformat data in
other manners. In one example, a dialer application may not have
been written to work with the input mechanisms described here.
Instead, the dialer may receive information about which objects (in
the form of virtual telephone keypad buttons) have been pressed by
a user. A simple gesture interface 217 may be programmed to reside
in a communication channel between the interface manager 216 and
the application, and may convert directional dragging inputs into
the form of messages that the dialing application expects to see
from the interface manager 216. In this manner, the system 200 can
provide a number of different manners in which to provide quick
user touchscreen input to one or more applications running on
device 202.
[0060] Finally, a user data database 220 may store information
about particular user preferences or parameters. For example, the
database 220 may store an identifier of an application that is to
receive input from the simple gesture interface 216 in various
contexts. As one example, a dialer application may be set by
default to receive such input when the input is made over an
operating system desktop. The user data database 220 may also
include information such as the type of virtual keypad a user
prefers to have their inputs mapped to (e.g., QWERTY or Dvorak),
and other relevant data needed to provide an alternative mechanism
for providing input.
[0061] FIG. 3A is a flowchart of a process for receiving
touchscreen user inputs. In general, the process involves the use
of a gesture tracking program to determine the form of user inputs
on a touchscreen interface, and then to convert those inputs into
particular commands (e.g., key presses) to be executed on computing
device.
[0062] At box 302, the process begins by the initiation of a
gesture tracker 302. The gesture tracker may, for example, be a
component of an operating system that launches when the device is
powered up, and that runs in the background to provide for
gesture-based input to the system. The tracker may alternatively be
an application separate form the core operating system, such as a
gadget or widget, that communicates with touchscreen managing
components of an operating system.
[0063] At box 304, the device receives a gesture input. Any contact
with the touchscreen may initially be interpreted as a gesture
input. Such an input may then go through a filtering process, such
as by filtering out contacts that are too broad-based to be
intentional inputs because they likely represent accidental contact
with something other than a fingertip or stylus. Also, certain
inputs may be filtered and passed to various different
applications, where one of the applications processes gestures like
those described above.
[0064] For gestures that are determined to relate to inputs that
are to be judge by their direction of dragging relative to a base
point, the direction of dragging may be computed at box 306. In
particular, endpoints for a dragging operation may be determined in
a familiar mariner, and the angle between the endpoints may be
computed. The angle may be generalized, in addition, such as to a
nearest round angle (e.g., the nearest 15 degrees) or nearest
compass direction (e.g., one of the eight or sixteen main compass
directions). Other representations for an angle or direction of a
dragging input, or a pair of tapping inputs, may also be
employed.
[0065] At box 308, a command or key press that has previously been
correlated with the direction may be assigned to the received
gesture, and may be executed at box 310. The command may be
assigned, for example, by a helper application that is dedicated to
receiving data on such user inputs and passing commands to
associated applications. Also, applications themselves may
correlate a direction with a command or keystroke.
[0066] FIG. 3B is a flowchart of a process for interpreting
touchscreen inputs on behalf of applications for which a user makes
the inputs. In general, the process involves tracking user inputs,
determining which inputs can be passed literally to an application
and which require interpretation, and interpreting the relevant
inputs before passing them, as interpreted, to an application.
[0067] The process in this example begins at box 312, where
relevant applications are launched. The applications may include
end-user application such as telephone dialers, chat programs, note
taking programs, and the like. The application may also include
intermediary applications, such as helper applications that work to
translate inputs from a touchscreen for direct use by the end-user
applications. The applications may perform relevant processes, and
at some point, may await events triggered by a user. For example,
an event manager may receive information about contacts made with a
touchscreen and may alert one or more relevant applications. For
example, at box 314, a user touchscreen input is received. The
input could take a variety of forms, such as one or more taps, and
one or more dragging motions that may occur in straight lines,
curves, or more complex shapes. At box 316, the process first
determines whether the input is in a form that needs to be
interpreted. For example, if the input is a tap on a program object
that is intended to receive user inputs, such as a selectable
button, such an action may be reported directly to the application
that generated the object (box 318).
[0068] If the input needs to be interpreted, the process may
determining whether it is a substantive input or an input to stop
the acceptance of such interpreted inputs (box 320). If it is the
latter, a helper application that assists in interpreting inputs
may be closed or disabled (box 324). For example, a user may have
previously had their mobile device in their pocket, and thus been
using a helper application that would interpret their inputs that
did not require visual attention, but may have then taken the
device out. Such a user may be able to use a keyboard directly by
tapping on the actual or literal objects such as individual keys on
a keypad. As such, the user may take an action to move the helper
application out of the way in such a situation.
[0069] If the interpreted input is not an ending input, then the
input needs to be interpreted and passed to the relevant
application (box 322). For example, a user may have entered a
dragging input in a particular direction on the touchscreen face,
where the user understands a particular direction to represent a
particular keypress. The correlation of that direction to the
keypress may have been previously registered, and a look-up may be
used to identify the keypress from the direction. An identifier for
the keypress may thus be passe to the application, so that the
application may register the intended user input.
[0070] In this manner, a computing device may be provided with a
flexible system by which to aid various applications in receiving
input from a user who cannot use their device in an
originally-intended manner that requires visual contact with the
device. Rather, each application (or the helper application itself)
may define a number of alternative input gestures that do not
require the level of visual attention required by the original
gestures, and may receive notice that the original gestures were
received, by the helper application that translates the alternative
gestures to the results associated with the original gestures.
[0071] FIG. 4 is a swim lane diagram of a process by which a
gesture tracking module interfaces between a computer application
and a touchscreen. In general, the process is shown here to
highlight one example by which various components may execute to
receive user inputs where the user need not be looking at a display
on which they entered the inputs. Other arrangements and
cooperation between and among components may also be used.
[0072] The process begins at box 402, where an application is
launched. The application may take a variety of forms, such as a
dialing application for a smart phone. Upon launching, the
application may call a gesture tracking module (box 404) for
assistance in managing certain inputs such as directional dragging
inputs on a touchscreen display. At box 406, the gesture tracking
module launches and registers its presence with an operating
system, such as a touchscreen manager component of a device
operating system that is responsible for reporting contact activity
entered through the touchscreen. The touchscreen manager, at box
408, then confirms back to the gesture tracking module, that it has
recognized the latter's registration.
[0073] At box 410, the touchscreen manager receives an input that
is not of the type handled by the gesture tracking module. For
example, the input may be in an area on the touchscreen that is
outside an area registered to the gesture tracking module. Or the
input may be a curved input or a tap, where the gesture tracking
module registered to receive information only about substantially
straight-lined dragging inputs. In such a situation, the
touchscreen manager may look to registration information from
various applications running on a device, and may report the input
from the user to the appropriate application (boxes 412 and 414).
The relevant application can then respond to the received input,
such as by responding to a button push on a virtual keypad on the
touchscreen.
[0074] A subsequent user input is received at box 416 (and follow
up inputs may be received repeatedly after the processing of other
inputs). This subsequent user input is determined to be an input in
a form that is relevant to the gesture tracking module, and thus is
reported to that module at box 418. For example, perhaps a user
initially tapped a first digit on a telephone dialer, and then
needed to glance away from their device, and was able to continue
dialing using directional dragging motions. The gesture tracking
module may then, based on information previously received from, or
on behalf of, the application, convert the information from the
touchscreen manager into a command or keypress for the application
(box 420).
[0075] The gesture tracking module then sends such information to
the application, which may respond to the input at box 422. In this
example, the gesture tracking module may have been brought forward
on the device via some particular action by the user, and at box
424 it is again minimized and moved out of the way. In other words,
a visual representation of the module on the touchscreen may be
removed, and no inputs on the touchscreen may be interpreted as
being directed to the module--even if they would otherwise match a
signature registered with the touchscreen manager by the gesture
tracking module.
[0076] FIG. 5 shows an example of a generic computer device 500 and
a generic mobile computer device 550, which may be used with the
techniques described here. Computing device 500 is intended to
represent various forms of digital computers, such as laptops,
desktops, workstations, personal digital assistants, servers, blade
servers, mainframes, and other appropriate computers. Computing
device 550 is intended to represent various forms of mobile
devices, such as personal digital assistants, cellular telephones,
smartphones, and other similar computing devices. The components
shown here, their connections and relationships, and their
functions, are meant to be exemplary only, and are not meant to
limit implementations of the inventions described and/or claimed in
this document.
[0077] Computing device 500 includes a processor 502, memory 504, a
storage device 506, a high-speed interface 508 connecting to memory
504 and high-speed expansion ports 510, and a low speed interface
512 connecting to low speed bus 514 and storage device 506. Each of
the components 502, 504, 506, 508, 510, and 512, are interconnected
using various busses, and may be mounted on a common motherboard or
in other manners as appropriate. The processor 502 can process
instructions for execution within the computing device 500,
including instructions stored in the memory 504 or on the storage
device 506 to display graphical information for a GUI on an
external input/output device, such as display 516 coupled to high
speed interface 508. In other implementations, multiple processors
and/or multiple buses may be used, as appropriate, along with
multiple memories and types of memory. Also, multiple computing
devices 500 may be connected, with each device providing portions
of the necessary operations (e.g., as a server bank, a group of
blade servers, or a multi-processor system).
[0078] The memory 504 stores information within the computing
device 500. In one implementation, the memory 504 is a volatile
memory unit or units. In another implementation, the memory 504 is
a non-volatile memory unit or units. The memory 504 may also be
another form of computer-readable medium, such as a magnetic or
optical disk.
[0079] The storage device 506 is capable of providing mass storage
for the computing device 500. In one implementation, the storage
device 506 may be or contain a computer-readable medium, such as a
floppy disk device, a hard disk device, an optical disk device, or
a tape device, a flash memory or other similar solid state memory
device, or an array of devices, including devices in a storage area
network or other configurations. A computer program product can be
tangibly embodied in an information carrier. The computer program
product may also contain instructions that, when executed, perform
one or more methods, such as those described above. The information
carrier is a computer- or machine-readable medium, such as the
memory 504, the storage device 506, memory on processor 502, or a
propagated signal.
[0080] The high speed controller 508 manages bandwidth-intensive
operations for the computing device 500, while the low speed
controller 512 manages lower bandwidth-intensive operations. Such
allocation of functions is exemplary only. In one implementation,
the high-speed controller 508 is coupled to memory 504, display 516
(e.g., through a graphics processor or accelerator), and to
high-speed expansion ports 510, which may accept various expansion
cards (not shown). In the implementation, low-speed controller 512
is coupled to storage device 506 and low-speed expansion port 514.
The low-speed expansion port, which may include various
communication ports (e.g., USB, Bluetooth, Ethernet, wireless
Ethernet) may be coupled to one or more input/output devices, such
as a keyboard, a pointing device, a scanner, or a networking device
such as a switch or router, e.g., through a network adapter.
[0081] The computing device 500 may be implemented in a number of
different forms, as shown in the figure. For example, it may be
implemented as a standard server 520, or multiple times in a group
of such servers. It may also be implemented as part of a rack
server system 524. In addition, it may be implemented in a personal
computer such as a laptop computer 522. Alternatively, components
from computing device 500 may be combined with other components in
a mobile device (not shown), such as device 550. Each of such
devices may contain one or more of computing device 500, 550, and
an entire system may be made up of multiple computing devices 500,
550 communicating with each other.
[0082] Computing device 550 includes a processor 552, memory 564,
an input/output device such as a display 554, a communication
interface 566, and a transceiver 568, among other components. The
device 550 may also be provided with a storage device, such as a
microdrive or other device, to provide additional storage. Each of
the components 550, 552, 564, 554, 566, and 568, are interconnected
using various buses, and several of the components may be mounted
on a common motherboard or in other mariners as appropriate.
[0083] The processor 552 can execute instructions within the
computing device 550, including instructions stored in the memory
564. The processor may be implemented as a chipset of chips that
include separate and multiple analog and digital processors. The
processor may provide, for example, for coordination of the other
components of the device 550, such as control of user interfaces,
applications run by device 550, and wireless communication by
device 550.
[0084] Processor 552 may communicate with a user through control
interface 558 and display interface 556 coupled to a display 554.
The display 554 may be, for example, a TFT LCD
(Thin-Film-Transistor Liquid Crystal Display) or an OLED (Organic
Light Emitting Diode) display, or other appropriate display
technology. The display interface 556 may comprise appropriate
circuitry for driving the display 554 to present graphical and
other information to a user. The control interface 558 may receive
commands from a user and convert them for submission to the
processor 552. In addition, an external interface 562 may be
provide in communication with processor 552, so as to enable near
area communication of device 550 with other devices. External
interface 562 may provide, for example, for wired communication in
some implementations, or for wireless communication in other
implementations, and multiple interfaces may also be used.
[0085] The memory 564 stores information within the computing
device 550. The memory 564 can be implemented as one or more of a
computer-readable medium or media, a volatile memory unit or units,
or a non-volatile memory unit or units. Expansion memory 574 may
also be provided and connected to device 550 through expansion
interface 572, which may include, for example, a SIMM (Single In
Line Memory Module) card interface. Such expansion memory 574 may
provide extra storage space for device 550, or may also store
applications or other information for device 550. Specifically,
expansion memory 574 may include instructions to carry out or
supplement the processes described above, and may include secure
information also. Thus, for example, expansion memory 574 may be
provide as a security module for device 550, and may be programmed
with instructions that permit secure use of device 550. In
addition, secure applications may be provided via the SIMM cards,
along with additional information, such as placing identifying
information on the SIMM card in a non-hackable manner.
[0086] The memory may include, for example, flash memory and/or
NVRAM memory, as discussed below. In one implementation, a computer
program product is tangibly embodied in an information carrier. The
computer program product contains instructions that, when executed,
perform one or more methods, such as those described above. The
information carrier is a computer- or machine-readable medium, such
as the memory 564, expansion memory 574, memory on processor 552,
or a propagated signal that may be received, for example, over
transceiver 568 or external interface 562.
[0087] Device 550 may communicate wirelessly through communication
interface 566, which may include digital signal processing
circuitry where necessary. Communication interface 566 may provide
for communications under various modes or protocols, such as GSM
voice calls, SMS, EMS, or MMS messaging, CDMA, TDMA, PDC, WCDMA,
CDMA2000, or GPRS, among others. Such communication may occur, for
example, through radio-frequency transceiver 568. In addition,
short-range communication may occur, such as using a Bluetooth,
WiFi, or other such transceiver (not shown). In addition, GPS
(Global Positioning System) receiver module 570 may provide
additional navigation- and location-related wireless data to device
550, which may be used as appropriate by applications running on
device 550.
[0088] Device 550 may also communicate audibly using audio codec
560, which may receive spoken information from a user and convert
it to usable digital information. Audio codec 560 may likewise
generate audible sound for a user, such as through a speaker, e.g.,
in a handset of device 550. Such sound may include sound from voice
telephone calls, may include recorded sound (e.g., voice messages,
music files, etc.) and may also include sound generated by
applications operating on device 550.
[0089] The computing device 550 may be implemented in a number of
different forms, as shown in the figure. For example, it may be
implemented as a cellular telephone 580. It may also be implemented
as part of a smartphone 582, personal digital assistant, or other
similar mobile device.
[0090] Various implementations of the systems and techniques
described here can be realized in digital electronic circuitry,
integrated circuitry, specially designed ASICs (application
specific integrated circuits), computer hardware, firmware,
software, and/or combinations thereof. These various
implementations can include implementation in one or more computer
programs that are executable and/or interpretable on a programmable
system including at least one programmable processor, which may be
special or general purpose, coupled to receive data and
instructions from, and to transmit data and instructions to, a
storage system, at least one input device, and at least one output
device.
[0091] These computer programs (also known as programs, software,
software applications or code) include machine instructions for a
programmable processor, and can be implemented in a high-level
procedural and/or object-oriented programming language, and/or in
assembly/machine language. As used herein, the terms
"machine-readable medium" "computer-readable medium" refers to any
computer program product, apparatus and/or device (e.g., magnetic
discs, optical disks, memory, Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs))
used to provide machine instructions and/or data to a programmable
processor, including a machine-readable medium that receives
machine instructions as a machine-readable signal. The term
"machine-readable signal" refers to any signal used to provide
machine instructions and/or data to a programmable processor.
[0092] To provide for interaction with a user, the systems and
techniques described here can be implemented on a computer having a
display device (e.g., a CRT (cathode ray tube) or LCD (liquid
crystal display) monitor) for displaying information to the user
and a keyboard and a pointing device (e.g., a mouse or a trackball)
by which the user can provide input to the computer. Other kinds of
devices can be used to provide for interaction with a user as well;
for example, feedback provided to the user can be any form of
sensory feedback (e.g., visual feedback, auditory feedback, or
tactile feedback); and input from the user can be received in any
form, including acoustic, speech, or tactile input.
[0093] The systems and techniques described here can be implemented
in a computing system that includes a back end component (e.g., as
a data server), or that includes a middleware component (e.g., an
application server), or that includes a front end component (e.g.,
a client computer having a graphical user interface or a Web
browser through which a user can interact with an implementation of
the systems and techniques described here), or any combination of
such back end, middleware, or front end components. The components
of the system can be interconnected by any form or medium of
digital data communication (e.g., a communication network).
Examples of communication networks include a local area network
("LAN"), a wide area network ("WAN"), and the Internet.
[0094] The computing system can include clients and servers. A
client and server are generally remote from each other and
typically interact through a communication network. The
relationship of client and server arises by virtue of computer
programs running on the respective computers and having a
client-server relationship to each other.
[0095] A number of embodiments have been described. Nevertheless,
it will be understood that various modifications may be made
without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For
example, much of this document has been described with respect to a
telephone dialing application, but other forms of applications and
keypad layouts may also be addressed, such as keypads involving
graphical icons and macros, in addition to alphanumeric
characters.
[0096] In addition, the logic flows depicted in the figures do not
require the particular order shown, or sequential order, to achieve
desirable results. In addition, other steps may be provided, or
steps may be eliminated, from the described flows, and other
components may be added to, or removed from, the described systems.
Accordingly, other embodiments are within the scope of the
following claims.
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